The New Marauders, Book 1: First Steps to Hell
by Honorary-Weasley-Lover
Summary: First of the New Marauders series.   It's their first year at Hogwarts and their feelings are mixed.  Posting: Chapter 3, Of Homes and Hearts.  Contains OCs, full summary inside.
1. Of Idiocy and Introductions

**Hello and welcome to the first installment of '_The New Marauders_'! If you've just stumbled upon this, please check out the profile page for any information that is not provided by the story. I would like to pint out that updates may be slow, but hopefully not.**

**Disclaimer: 'Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it, not one drop!'**

**Summary: **This is it! They're finally going to Hogwarts. Fred and George are bouncing off the walls, Lee wonders how he'll survive when his best friends are idiots, Helena is bored by the whole thing, Amelia wishes she was anyone other than her father's daughter and Lemony just wishes she new what International Quidditch team she went for.  
>In the first volume of 'The New Marauders', the New Marauders are formed, enemies are made, detentions are in their hundreds and, really, who cares about House Rivalry?<p>

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><p><strong>The New Marauders <strong>

**Book One**

**First Steps to Hell, Chapter One**

**- Of Idiocy and Introductions -**

On no particular Saturday, in no particular August, in 1989 the rosy fingers of dawn crept silently over the village of Ottery St Catchpole. High on a hill sat a lonely goatherd, and next to said goatherd was a crooked house that looked like it might once have been a pigstye. By this point, dawn had moved past this house and was shedding light on its neighbour (a large house that looked like a giant boot from a distance) when a loud scream echoed from an upstairs room in the crooked house.

"FRED! GEORGE! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM?" Percy Weasley had woken to find his room and everything in it covered in pink paint.

As this was a normal occurrence in the Weasley Household, everyone's instinctual reaction was to roll over and go back to sleep. This morning, however, was different. Within minutes, the whole Weasley Clan was awake and crowded around the kitchen table.

Molly Weasley, mother of seven, cook extraordinaire and all that rot, was glaring at her twin sons, Fred Gideon and George Fabian. The glare she was now sending at the two boys would have been enough to melt the flesh off your bones. It had, however, no effect whatsoever on the two hyped up boys. They were excited today more than ever because they were finally going to Hogwarts! Well, they weren't going to Hogwarts _that very morning_, but they were going to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies. It merited the same amount of excitement for them.

As Mrs Weasley opened her mouth to scold them, Fred interrupted her. "But Mu-um! You told us to wake everyone up this morning!"

Molly glared at him, sparks flying out of her eyes. "_That didn't mean you could use your brother as an alarm clock!_"

"Screamed like a girl he did!" muttered George, poking Percy, who was still covered in paint. Percy scowled at his brother and shifted away.

"That had better meld itself into an apology!" shrieked Molly. "And you two had better learn some self restraint before you go to Hogwarts!"

"And what if we don't?" the twins asked together.

"I'll write to Professor Dumbledore and tell him you can't go,"

"You wouldn't!"

"I would!" she paused. "And that was not a challenge!" The twins frowned. "Now, if you can be good until we get to, and _while_ we're at Diagon Alley, I will let you go to Hogwarts."

But alas, of course, you all know Fred and George (you _do_ know Fred and George, don't you?) In the three hours it took the Weasley family to wash, dress, breakfast and assemble in front of the fire place, they'd turned Ron's Chudley Cannons posters pink (they weren't sure how) made Ginny's hair fall out (again, they didn't know how) thrown all of Charlie's socks out the window and killed Ron's puffskein while playing Quidditch on their toy brooms.

As George's head disappeared into the swirling emerald flames, Mrs Weasley sighed. Maybe Hogwarts would straiten them out…? She snorted and shook her head. 'And Bill will marry the descendent of a Veela,'

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><p>As you've probably guessed, Fred and George caused paindestruction/mass panic (delete as applicable) as soon as they stepped out of the emerald fire.

Upon exiting said fire, George inhaled a rather large portion of hot ash and crashed out of the fire and strait into Fred who was nursing his bruised elbows. This caused a mini domino effect as Fred crashed into a small blonde girl who was standing directly behind him. _She_ then knocked into her taller, black-haired friend.

Both girls glared at the twins with eerily similar green eyes. "Watch it!" the blonde snapped.

"Or are your noses so big they block your vision?" said the black-haired girl, sneering nastily.

"Now, Helena," said a man, also with black hair, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be mean to these boys. I'm sure they didn't mean it,"

Helena tossed her hair and stalked off, calling: "C'mon Amelia!" and the blonde scampered after her.

The man turned to Fred and George. "I apologise for my daughter's behaviour – she and her friend are quite opinionated,"

They tried and failed to smile politely before running after the rest of their family.

"Oooh," said Fred once they were out of earshot of the girls and the father.

"Creepy," added George, glancing over his shoulder at them.

"I hope they're not in our year," they said together, striking Shakespearian poses.

"Fred! George! Hurry up!" Arthur called as the family headed to the back of the pub.

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><p>After the abysmal sight of the inside of the Weasley bank vault, the twins convinced their parents to let them explore Quality Quidditch Supplies. Grudgingly, Molly nodded, but sent Charlie with them to (hopefully) keep them out of trouble.<p>

Yelling their thanks over their shoulders, Fred and George shot off towards the shop, Charlie sprinting to catch up to them. He lost them when they disappeared into the International Quidditch merchandise section, but found them when there was a loud: "OUCH!"

He rounded a shelf just in time to hear Fred say: "Gee, Georgie, you've been running into girls like that a lot today!"

Charlie gathered from the scene in front of him that George had run around the corner he'd just come around and barrelled into their next door neighbour's girl, Lemony Wilson, who was scurrying about retrieving all the items she'd dropped. He stooped down to help the frantic black haired girl and stood up with two shirts in each hand; two for the Appleby Arrows, one for the Wigtown Wanderers and one for the Falmouth Falcons.

"Which team do you actually go for?" George asked while Lemony tried to wrestle a Pride of Portee's shirt from Fred. Her attempt was failing miserably as Fred was a good foot taller than her. She looked at George with a strained expression on her face.

"Mm, I don't know!" she said, frustrated, making a grab for the purple and gold top Fred was holding just out of her reach. "Aw, c'mon Fred!" she whined, standing on her toes to reach the shirt. "Give it back!"

"Shant!" the elder of the twins laughed waving the shirt in Lemony's face. She made a feeble grab at it and fell sadly short (no pun intended). She crossed her arms and stomped her foot childishly.

"Give it back!"

"No!"

"Give it back!"

"Get another one!"

"I want that one!"

"Well you can't have this one!"

"But I want it!" she sniffled, crocodile tears forming in her large, blue eyes. Fred wavered.

"Oh no…th-that cutesy face won't work on me!" A single, fat tear rolled down her cheek.

In the background, Charlie and George were wetting themselves with laughter as Fred's resolve cracked and shattered.

"Fine!" Fred announced. "Here's your stupid shirt!" Lemony cheered and did a happy-dance when the shirt was once again safely in her grasp.

Lemony was just paying for her merchandise when her parents walked into the shop. Catching sight of her daughter, Sicily Wilson nudged her husband.

"See Dominick, I told you we'd find her here!" she told her husband.

It was clear where Lemony got her looks from. Her father, Dominick, sported a head of very long, black hair and his slanted eyes were slate grey. Sicily had shoulder length, blonde curls and the same startling blue eyes possessed by all the women on her side of the family.

"And you thought she'd be at Florean's!" Scicly exclaimed incredulously.

"I was gonna go there next!" muttered Lemony. Suddenly, a metaphorical lightbulb popped above her head. "DING!" she shouted, an evil smirk crossing her face as she glanced at Fred and George, who also had smirks on their identical faces.

The three of them put on their best (coughcough_unconvincing_cough) innocent, puppy-dog expressions and faced the Wilson's. "Mum, Dad, you really love me, don't you?" asked Lemony, Fred and George nodding furiously behind her.

"What do you want?" her father answered, not looking up from the banners he was looking at. "Dear?" he said to Sicily. "Which of these should I buy?"

"Guess it's hereditary," Fred said to his twin. George nodded and Lemony tried her mother.

"Mooooooother dearest!"

"Daaaaaaaaughter darling!"

"Can I go with Twit One and Twit Two to get my school supplies? Pleeeeeease?" she threw in a few tears to make it convinsing.

"Twit One and Twit Two? Excuse us!" the twins cried. They were ignored.

"Well..." murmured Sicily. "I'll have to ask Molly, but I suppose you can go." She waved her wand and a silver fox flew out of the shop. A few minutes later, Molly's returning patronus arrived baring the words: "She can stay for tea if she likes!"

"Thank you Mum!" Lemony cried, hugged her mother and the three friends rushed out the door.

"Sicily, you didn't answer my question," Dominick said, holding up six or seven Quidditch banners. "Which should I buy?"

"Buy them all dear, I'm sure they'll fit somewhere..."

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><p>"I'm telling you guys, it's a girl!" Lemony poked Lee's temple. "Look at the hair!"<p>

After abandoning the Quidditch store, the three had made their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour, where they'd spotted Lee Jordan, a boy they'd met on a night exploration when they'd stolen their parent's brooms. They were now indulging themselves in one of their favourite activities: trying to make the calm black boy in front of them snap.

They'd decided to take an old approach – pretending not to know Lee's gender.

"No Lemony, we're pretty sure Lee's a guy!" Fred said, a hand on George's forehead to keep him away from Lee's ice-cream. George suddenly stopped clawing at the air trying to reach the cone.

"_Strawberry?_ Really Lee, that's a girl's flavour!" he exclaimed loudly, shaking his hand to get the pink drips off it.

"SEE!" cried Lemony, flinging her arm out and just missing Lee's head.

"I like strawberry…" mumbled Fred, looking longingly at the cone.

Lee put his head in his hands as his three friends continued their argument. "All I wanted was an Ice-Cream!" he whimpered as said cone was dropped in his hair.

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><p>Just across the road, in a dimly lit apothecary, Helena Potter glanced over to her very short, blonde friend and waved a hand in front of her vacant face.<p>

"Amelia, what are you staring at?" she asked after getting no response.

"Those twins from earlier…" came the airy response.

"Why?"

"They remind me of someone," Amelia shook her hair and crossed her eyes, poking her tongue out. This was her 'Look-At-Me-I'm-A-Moron' face. Helena laughed at her friends antics, but glanced over to the ice cream parlour herself.

The two red-heads and a black haired girl she'd seen at parties she'd been dragged to were terrorizing a boy with dreadlocks who had an ice cream on his head. She blinked.

"Our year gets all the weirdos," she muttered as Amelia began to poke at the Dragon Eyes.

"One of 'em blinked at me!" she cried happily, prodding away at them. Helena sighed.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."


	2. Of Wands and Wanderings

**Yes! Second installment! I'm estimating that this story will be 10-14 chapters long, maybe a little more...  
>Thanks to ThisbySolo and Experienced Author for reviewing. (I'd thank HelenaVoldemort, but she helped write it...)<br>Oh, I apologize if the end of this chapter seems...odd...I wrote it while in a sick daze, so it probably isn't perfect, and is probably a little weired. I's also like to point out that I wrote this while under medication, so that's most likely a contributing factor...  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: 'you know all those dangerous mutants you hear about on the news? I'm the worst one...'**

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><p><strong>The New Marauders <strong>

**Book One**

**First Steps to Hell, Chapter Two**

**- Of Wands and Wanderings -**

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><p>"Hey, Lee," Fred leaned across the table to the still ice-cream covered boy.<p>

"What?" Lee sighed irritably. Honestly, how was he _ever_ going to survive seven years with these idiots? He shuddered at the thought, and addressed Fred. "What?" he said again.

"Have you got your wand yet?" the red-head asked, drumming his fingers on the table and looking over his shoulder to where Lemony and George were buying ice-creams.

Lee blinked and reached into one of the many bags he had stacked under the table. "You bet," his voice was muffled as he sorted through the items in the bag. "Robe, robe, hat, book, another book - where the devil has it got to?"

While he searched through his bags, Lemony and George reappeared at the table. "Peppermint, chocolate and raspberry, just how you like it!" announced George, handing the ice-cream to his twin. "Lemony's shout," he added, sliding into the seat next to Lee.

"What's he doing?" Lemony asked, gesturing with her violently aqua and black ice-cream to Lee, who was still rummaging through his bags.

"Looking for his wand - Lemony, what the hell is in that ice-cream?" Fred said all this in one breath, not pausing between phrases, so Lemony blinked slowly at him while trying to decipher what he'd said.

"Umm," she said when she'd reached her conclusion. "Bubblegum and liquorice. I've got my wand too, if you want to see-"

"FOUND IT!" Lee cried happily, waving the thin box above his head in some bizarre victory dance.

"-it if you want..." Lemony trailed off, looking on with interest as Lee pulled the pale stick of wood from the sky-blue velvet. "Wow," she breathed - Lee's wand was almost as cool as her own, in her opinion.

"Eight and a half inches, ash," Lee murmured, twirling the wand slightly. A small fountain of bronze sparks flew from the tip. "Unicorn tail hair,"

"Neat," the twins spoke in unison, looking enviously at the wand.

"Mum says we don't get ours 'til it's time to leave!" exclaimed Fred, George nodding in agreement.

"Well, here's mine," Lemony pulled hers out of her pocket and displayed it proudly. "It took poor old Ollivander almost half an hour to find it. He says my dad's is nearly the same!" Lemony swished the wand and the silvery wood shimmered, silver bubbles pouring out the end. "Eleven inches, silver-birch. Australian Opal Eye heartstring," she slipped it back into her pocket. "I named it Barnaby."

"Of course you did," muttered George, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, don't knock it! At least I didn't kill my brother's puffskien and put 'Bludger-Butt' on the grave!"

"That was Fred's fault! He's the one that said it wouldn't die!" Fred sputtered indignantly as his twin ratted him out.

Lee coughed. "What was its actual name?" The twins fell silent, then began laughing.

"Blossom P. Blossleberry!"

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><p>Helena finally managed to pry Amelia away from the dragon eyes, and towed her towards the book shop.<p>

"For the last time Amelia, it did not blink at you!"

"Yes it did! You just don't believe me because you didn't see it!" Amelia huffed, crossing her arms and stamping her foot. A feat exceptionally hard to pull off when one is being pulled by the arm by a stronger (not to mention _taller_) friend.

"Do we have to go to Flourish and Blotts?" Amelia whined, tripping slightly on the uneven cobblestones.

"Yes!" Helena snapped, crossing the threshold and immediately heading for the potions books.

"But we've already been here _twice_ today - and I wanna go to Eyelops!"

"Amelia, please stop acting like a five year old - you're attracting attention!"

"Where?" the pet shop (if it can be called that) all but forgotten, Amelia swung her head around trying to spot the 'attention'.

"You are so gullible," Helena whispered, sliding a thick tome off the shelf and flipping to the section about transfiguring potions, immediately becoming engrossed in a rather complex spray potion to turn cacti into couches. She'd have to try it once she got to Hogwarts - finally! A way to get rid of her dad's horrid cactus collection AND a way to get her mother a birthday gift without spending any money in one little spray! She was just about to ask Amelia what her opinion was on the plan when Helena noticed one vital flaw - Amelia had wandered off.

"Not again!" Helena cried, frantically stowing the book on the shelf and tearing off to find her friend.

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><p>Molly Weasley smiled when she approached the ice-cream parlour and saw her sons joking and laughing with friends. When the twins were little, they never had many friends, preferring to stick with each other. She walked over to them and noticed that poor Lee Jordan had strawberry ice-cream in his hair.<p>

"_Scourgify!_" she said with a flick of her wand. Lee sighed with relief as the sticky pink mess disappeared from his precious dreads.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley!" he said, running a hand through the dreads.

"Call me Molly dear," she said for the hundredth time.

"Alright Mrs. Weasley," Lee saluted, then turned to his three friends. "Sorry guys, it's been fun - I mean, I love getting covered in frozen dairy products as much as the next boy - but I've gotta dash, Mum will be looking for me,"

As if reading her son's mind, Valerie Jordan rounded the corner yelling: "Lee Anthony Jordan! There you are!"

"Coming Mum!" Lee cried, sprinting towards the tall black woman, calling over his shoulder: "By Fred, bye George, bye Lemony! Thanks again Mrs. Weasley!"

"Bye Lee!" the twins chorused.

"See ya at Hogwarts!" cried Lemony, slurping up the remains of her ice-cream.

"Right," huffed Molly once Lee had gone. "Who wants to get wands?"

The deafening "ME!" from the twins could be heard throughout the Alley.

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><p>After running to almost all the stores in Diagon Alley and turning up nothing, Helena slid down the wall of Eyelop's Owl Emporium and waited, knowing that Amelia would eventually wander over to her favourite store when she got bored.<p>

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><p>Helena, however, couldn't be more wrong. As soon as Amelia got bored of the bookstore (something that didn't take very long) she headed in the opposite direction of Eyelop's, towards Ollivander's. Pulling her money bag out, she decided she had enough money to get herself a wand without Helena's father paying for it.<p>

Skipping all the way, she approached the shop, opened the door and giggled when the dusty bell rang. Her eyes widened in wonder at the cramped shelves and the spindly lights and furnishings. Taking a seat on the rickety white chair, she waited to be served.

"Miss Dolohov," a silvery voice floated around the shop. "May I assist you?" Amelia blinked as the owner of the shop, just as thin and spindly as the lights above her, appeared behind the counter.

"Yes, I'd like to buy my wand please..." she trailed off under Ollivander's piercing gaze.

"Certainly," he answered, pulling out his silver marked tape measure. "Hold out your wand arm," she obediently held up her left arm. The tape measure flew at her and began to measure everything it could. She gave a high pitched giggle (out of nerves mainly) when it measured the shell of her ear.

Meanwhile, Ollivander was pulling boxes off the shelf and piling them on the counter. "Try...this one!" he said, flourishing a goldish coloured wand. "Thirteen inches, beach, unicorn tail hair. Whippy, good for Transfiguration!" he handed it to her. Amelia waved it and nothing happened.

Ollivander tapped his chin, and pulled out a box that was twice the size of a normal wand box. "Try this." The second wand a mossy brown wand. "Ten and a quarter inches, olive, manticore quill, very rare..."

She picked it up and again, nothing happened. "How about that?" she pointed at a faded plum coloured box. Ollivander arched an eyebrow, but pulled the wand out anyway.

"Eleven and three quarter inches, willow. Phoenix tail feather core. Springy, good for Charms," he said, somewhat stiffly. He was about to hand it to her when the bell jingled again and the Weasleys (plus Lemony) entered the store. "Just a moment," said Ollivander, turning back to Amelia. She took the wand and waved it.

Warmth spread up her arm as a shower of purple flowers fell softly from the tip. "Hmmm," muttered Ollivander, making a note on a scrap of parchment. "Your mother did the same..."

"Huh?" said Amelia, twirling the wand around to see if the flowers would change colour. Ollivander shook his head, and smiled at the childish expression on her face.

Amelia paid for her wand and left the store, spotting Helena sullenly sitting outside Eyelop's. "Helena!" she called running over.

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><p>When the shop's door had swung closed, Ollivander turned his gaze on the new customers. "Ahh, the Weasley family. How are you Molly? Arthur?"<p>

They answered with 'Well, thankyou's and such. "We're here to get Fred and George's wands," Molly told him happily, motioning to the twins. Ollivander turned his eyes on them.

"The spitting images of Gideon and Fabian..."

"Yes they are, and just as much of a handful!" Molly declared. "Though," she added in a more sombre tone. "I would've liked for them to have their old wands, but they were destroyed in the...in the...attack..." her voice wavered, and Bill put a hand on his mother's shoulder.

The shop's owner nodded sadly. "Yes, such a shame, fine wands, fine lads. I remember selling them - AH!" he hurriedly moved some of the boxes he'd had out for Amelia and picked up the large box again. "If I remember correctly, these two almost worked for them, but not quite..." he handed the mossy brown wand to George. It sputtered softly, and a single gold star fell out. "Yeees..." Ollivander grabbed it off George and handed it to Fred. The wand didn't sputter, a single star didn't fall out. A _torrent_ of golden stars spilled towards the polished wood floor. Fred laughed giddily and watched them dance.

Ollivander repeated what he'd said to Amelia: "Ten and a quarter inches, olive, manticore quill." He pulled the second wand out of the box and handed it to George. Nothing happened. Fred tilted his head and George frowned. Ollivander took it back and looked it over. A look of surprise crossed his face.

"I must have put it in the wrong box," he said incredulously, pulling another box off the shelf and swapping the wands. "Try this one," he said, still shocked from putting a wand in the wrong box. No wonder he'd been feeling...off...lately. "Honestly, how could I mistake Twelve inches, gum and thestral hair for twelve inches, oak and manticore quill?..." he handed the dark brown wand to George, who was, along with Fred, shaking with silent laughter at the look on the old wandseller's face.

George held the wand and gasped when black starts shot out the tip of his wand to join Fred's rapidly vanishing gold ones on the floor. "Yes, yes, _yes!_" Ollivander exclaimed. "Your uncle's did the same! Excellent, excellent! You two will do extraordinary things with those wands!"

The twins exchanged evil smirks. "Oh yes, we will..."


	3. Of Homes and Hearts

**Disclaimer: Somehow, when you say that, it makes it sound illeagle...**

**Oh wow I'm a bad updater, and this isn't even a proper chapter! -it's a filler chapter! Its only purpose is to give insight into the character's home life, and was kinda rushed...**

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><p><strong>The New Marauders <strong>

**Book One**

**First Steps to Hell, Chapter Three**

**- Of Homes and Hearts -**

Lee Jordan smiled at his friend's retreating backs, and then scampered to his mother's side.

Valerie Jordan (maiden name: Thomas) was a tall, black woman, whose long black hair trailed down to the middle of her back. She had the same coffee coloured eyes as her son, and they shone merrily. "Now then boy," she said, taking some of the bags from her son. "Let's head shall we? I had a great idea for dinner!"

"Mum," Lee said in a cautious tone. "It doesn't involve sweet potato, green onions and celery again does it?" This fell on deaf ears as Valerie strode ahead, towards the Leaky Cauldron. Lee sighed and shook his head fondly. His mother was _the worst_ cook he'd ever had the misfortune to meet, but he loved her dearly.

They apparated from the Leaky strait to the driveway of their house, Travis and Aaron, their border-collie, and flat-coated retriever puppy, raced down from the house to greet them, barking excitedly. Valerie laughed when Aaron, who was only seven months old, jumped into Lee's arms, licking his face and nearly knocking him over. Laughing too, Lee carried the squirming puppy under his arm, Travis lingering around his mother's feet, tail wagging, and the four made their way to the house.

The Jordan household was a small (well, compared to the Burrow anyway...) redbrick house, with terracotta roofing tiles out of which several chimneys protruded. There were daffodils, enchanted to bloom all year round, growing up the path, all the way to the door step. Two windows on the ground floor, and one on the top, overlooked the countryside. On the other side, symmetrical windows gave view of the small forest surrounding the area. Lee had lived in this house since he was seven, after they'd moved there when his parents split up. He liked his mother's house more than his father's - his house was cold and grey, whereas this one was warm, bright, and loving.

His mother unlocked the door, and the dogs raced in. Lee brushed the dirt Aaron had left on his jacket off, and followed his mother inside. They could hear the dog's paws padding up the stairs. "They're looking for a sunbeam," Valerie said, reaching into one of her pockets. "I bought you a present, Lee." She held her hand out.

In her palm sat a small jar containing four white, fluffy balls. "They're tarantula eggs," she stage-whispered, tipping the jar into her son's hand. "The guy behind the counter said they may take a while to hatch, but I didn't catch anything else - he ran off to help some eccentric blonde who want-" she was cut off as Lee threw his arms around her neck. "Thanks Mum!" he cried, then rushed to his room, looking for a place to keep his new pets.

"I'll call you when dinner's ready!" she yelled after him.

"Call St. Mungo's first!" came his reply.

"Ha-bloody-ha," his mother called sarcastically.

"Love you, Mum!"

"Yeeeah right!"

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><p>Lying on her bed, hand stoking her new pet's fur, Amelia contemplated her life. The hours between eight thirty and three the next morning was the time she did this, every few weeks in the year, and she had done since she was dropped here by a kind red-headed woman, terrified and shaking.<p>

The door had been opened, and an equally kind black-haired man had looked at her and let her in, his daughter sitting happily on his shoulders. They'd welcomed her into their home, and they became her family. True, she never forgot her real family, and she kept her last name (she didn't know why, though) but she loved them, and they loved her. They took her to the park, and she and Helena played on the swings, Eloise and Brian watching over them protectively. Yes, Amelia thought, she loved the Potters, she loved Helena, and now she was very tired, so she rolled over and went to sleep.

She was brought out of it by a muffled squeaking. Blinking she rolled over and a slightly squashed bat stumbled away to perch on her lampshade. "Woops, sorry Douglas!" she mumbled, rolling over again. The bat squeaked and forgave her, folding its wings and joining his mistress in sleep.

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><p>Lemony sighed contentedly as she, Fred and George ambled their way across the paddock and over the hedge that separated their houses. As they battled the nettles to get up the garden path, Lemony glanced up at the house. "Ahh, home sweet Italy!" she cried, jumping a bramble. And it was true – her house was shaped like a gigantic, black boot.<p>

She and George laughed as Fred went sprawling into an over-grown rose bush. "Get out of Cessil!" Lemony yelled at him, still laughing loudly.

"Cessil?" Fred exclaimed as he extracted himself from the bush, plucking thorns out of his shirt. "What kind of for a rose bush is that?"

"The only one you're gonna get!" she laughed, running up the path, George on her heels, and Fred stumbling after. Lemony reached the blue door, and knocked, twice, very loudly, and waited. And waited. Then waited some more. "MUM!" she bellowed. "OPEN THE GOD-DAMMED DOOR!"

A window from the top floor was opened, and Sicily Wilson stuck her head out. "DON'T SWEAR!" she yelled back.

"WHATEVER!" Lemony screamed as her father opened the door.

"Ahhh, Lemony…" Dominique said distractedly. "Come in, come in! You two too, Fred, George," the twins looked at each other warily. "Yeah, come on – I'm reorganising the Quidditch room,"

"Oh," said Fred, looking at George.

"Ah," said George, looking at Fred.

"Bye!" said the twins as they ran back down the path.

"OI!" Lemony yelled after them. "Come back you two! Don't make me face this by myself!"

"Bye Lemony!" they chorused. "See you at Hogwarts!"

"Yeah…BYE!" she turned to the house, and her father. "You better not have touched my collection of Kenmare Kestrels merchandise!"

"I haven't touched your precious snow-globes!"


End file.
